Megaman Zero: The Search For A Legend
by Force1295
Summary: The third book in the series. After X's death, the world takes a turn for the worst as Neo Arcadia starts forcing Reploids into terrible experiments. Who can stop them when the Earth's greatest heroes have gone?
1. Total Dominion

Total Dominion  
  
Following the death of Sigma at the hands of X, mankind and Reploids took charge of their lives and tried to recollect their lost time... Looking at their homes with wide eyes, mankind and Reploid alike thanked the stars above that the Mother Virus had been stopped... Breathing in the fresh crisp air, they finally knew that the Sigma Wars were over with... Gathering up the pieces of their cities and rebuilding their civilization, everything started to look for the better for these people... After everything was set and finalized, the inhabitants of the blue orb set out to better their world... Their first task, they would do to commemorate the Earth's greatest hero, was to erect a mammoth statue at the place where he fell... And there, both mankind and Reploidom, they stood with their misty eyes saying their final goodbyes to their fallen hero... to their friend... With its wings outstretched across the horizon and sword pointed into the heavens, X would stand as a beakon for the glory that both races would hold...  
Using this statue as the basis to make a stand, Neo Arcadia took its initiative to launch its attack on Reploidom... Seizing the moment of weakness, the Neo Arcadian government made a new law in which Reploidom would submit to their procedures... These supposed procedures were to make sure that the Mother Virus had left of their systems... However like most things done for the betterment of a race, there was a hidden agenda behind all of the lies... For all this was a cover and what they were doing inside of the labs was nothing short of trying to play God...  
The consequences for not submitting themselves to the Neo Arcadian government were strict... If Reploids did not submit to these experiments, the government placed huge bounties out on them and hired out mercenaries to take out anyone who resisted... Everything had been damned in this world.... for hopes and dreams were naught but commodities to be sold to the highest bidder... Greed had reared its ugly head not even four months after X's sacrifice... forsaking his ultimate choice... and his greatest gift to everyone...  
  
In the Neo Arcadian labs, the tortured cries and pleas echoed down the blackened halls... The spine chilling moans of their Reploid detainees seemed to haunt the corridors around the labs... For as the body pile of failed experiments gathered... they had no way of getting rid of the bodies and they piled up very quickly... In fact, the experiments ended so sloppily that they did not even know if they had ended the resurrection correctly or if they still survived... For in the growing dark, there would be a growing number of Reploids that had survived and would create havok in the world... Yet time would only tell when and where... they would strike...  
No one knew where the Neo Arcadian government got the technology to perform such atrocious acts but they all agreed where the government got the information... It was public knowledge that the government was grave robbers but there was nothing that they could do to stop this powerful abomination... In fact, the hired grave robbers salvaged this information from the Neo Hunters' computer systems... To the horror of all, everything had involved the last remaining bit of Gate's resurrection data and was sold to them for the highest price... The price was meaningless compared to the things that they could do with it... They indeed put a good use to it for this stolen data was used to justify the killing of thousands of Reploids... and to try to resurrect them for the bettering of technology...  
  
Whatever information that they could get from the resurrected Reploids, they would enter it all in their computers as field data, from every experiment even the failed, for it all helped and gave them enough knowledge to lengthen the time that the resurrected survived... When this knowledge was first found, they knew that it would eventually be leaked out onto the net... It was inevitable that it would leak out... and leak out it did... but much sooner than what people first thought... Everyone that had makeshift labs tried to duplicate Gate's results... In their eyes, life had become another forsaken quality... and further darkened the future of all...  
  
While everything was going on on the Earth, Zenith snuck away from the public eye... and found himself in the ranks of the Intergalactic Police again... Despite all his hard work to save the world from Sigma, he was arrested for abandoning his post and convicted of his crimes... Zenith was sentenced forthwith in a minimum security prison whereas he had to serve his term for no less than eight years... For his saving humanity, he was stripped of his title in the police unit and disevowed of within their ranks... Soon his reputation grew tarnished and the good deeds that he had done faded away... He had martyred himself to save his brother from Black Talon's revenge... Zenith would not be the last to sacrifice himself for the greater good... for soon there was another to fade from this realm... and join the heroes of old...  
  
The years passed and all the good deeds that were once overglorified in the eyes of mankind and Reploidom seemed to disappear... A total of ninty-five years had passed since X's ultimate sacrifice and the crimes of Neo Arcadia continued to grow... They had gathered great intelligence about Gate's resurrection data and used it to produce products that would lengthen their own lives... The audacity of Neo Arcadia was not reserved just for cheating people out of their lives for they also cheated Death himself... Violating this natural law, it seemed that their evil deeds would never end....  
What remained of the race of machines seemed to not even be a handful... The few Reploids who had either escaped from the Neo Arcadian holding facilities, or had escaped being detained, hid in old dirrelect cities... They were too afraid of being caught by the mercenaries to even try anything... Here and together with the Resistance, they begun to dig up what remained of the old technology in hopes of finding something to use against Neo Arcadia... This would give them the edge that they would need to put a dampener on the government's plans... For soon another threat would loom over everyone as the resurrected Reploids would surface... What would come next would be the trial of fire that was needed to see if mankind would be worthy of inheriting the Earth.... for soon... the Madness would take its grip and effect the world unlike anything the Mother and Sigma Virus could fathom... 


	2. Wake Up Call

Wake Up Call

A silent crash echoed through a corridor as the pitter-patter of feet trampled to a stop outside a large vault door. Several soldiers clad in military uniforms stood beside the door as a large Reploid clad in heavy body armor clanked down the hall. Coming to a stop outside the door, he turned to face a woman in ninja gear standing beside him. Looking around to make sure that everyone was clear, they quickly set off a charge that was placed on the door as they were to make haste in this area. With an enormous explosion and a thud, the vault door came crashing several feet from where Nemesis and Oracle stood as Resistance soldiers rushed into the darkened room. For, the time had come for the Resistance to come upon this site... For, this was a silent grave of a soul who needed to be reawakened... And the time that had been feared for had drawn near and the war against evil was soon to burn anew...

Taking a step inside the hollow room, the lights flickered to life as a capsule stood silhouetted against a dark corner of the room. Their footsteps echoing as they drew near, they checked the status of the pod and made ready to release its occupant. Laying a hand on the pod, Nemesis smiled remembering her and her bouts to save his people last time she had been awakened. She looked so peaceful inside the capsule as Oracle came up beside her betrothed and rested a hand on his massive shoulder. They stood next to her pod taking in her details that were long since forgotten in their ninety year war against Neo Arcadia... Nemesis and Oracle awaited silently at the foot of the pod knowing that it was her time to ascend to new heights... and solve the new crisis at hand...

Her eyes rolling around under her eyelids, the beautiful and youthful blonde woman lay almost lifeless... Little did she know that her wake up call was soon to come. Nemesis and Oracle turned their attention to the main computer that was quietly ticking with life once more... A few seconds go by and then a few minutes as the light from the main monitor lit up the rest of the room. With a silent hiss that resounded across the room, the computer came back to life with the holo-emitters following it. As everything went to work, Nemesis and Oracle stood around the computer awaiting a familiar face to appear before them. It had been such a long time since this place had been reactivated and the fact that it still functioned surprised everyone...

Flashing to life with a mechanical tick, a series of multicolored lights flushed across the room as the light processed a form in the center of the room... Given a few moments, a man, with thick rimmed glasses, stretched out and stood before them with a warm smile marred across his face... as he bowed to welcome them. His slight Russian accent was hidden behind his laughter at the weapons that were now being pointed at his holographic form. Raising his arms in defeat, he motioned for them to lower their arms and spoke to the ones who called upon him once more....

"Easy fellas," the man spoke as the light hit his glasses, "Nemesis and Oracle! Glad you've survived the years! Is it time already?"

"Glad to see you're still functioning Dr Cossack," Oracle smiled, "Yes the time has come to reawaken Ciel. Would your daughter remember us?"

"Sadly no," Dr Cossack looked down at his feet, "I had to wipe her memory... I thought it best that she not remember anything more than what's going on now... She was grief stricken when X passed on and I couldn't leave her like that... She needs to start fresh with a new chance at a good life! The last thing she will remember are our bouts with the Sigmus Virus... This is your last chance... Think about what you've come here to do... Are you still sure you want Ciel as the head of this Resistance? I mean we worked hard to free your people from Sigma and Neo Arcadia but I think Xephyr is far more of a seasoned soldier than she is... She's only a scientist... Not some freedom fighter..."

"I hate coming to you with such bad news," Nemesis bowed, "Xehpyr is missing... Our forces are drawn to the brink and we can't go on without some form of leadership.... The worst part of it all? There's an energy shortage of which us Reploids are getting blamed for... Hell our numbers are so low now that I doubt that we could use as much energy as they say... They should look at themselves... using that bastard science of Gate's to engineer ways to resurrect my brethren... long after killing them of course... They're the ones who are using the energy in their experiments but the remaining forces of the Resistance and many other innocent Reploids hiding out are getting the blame..."

"Oh dear... That's terrible news," Dr. Cossack's face sullied, "Dreadful... What has happened since I've been away? Has Sigma returned? I take it that Neo Arcadia is still going strong... Rotten people that lot is... I'm not worried about them as I am about Sigma... so what news of him?"

"None, he hasn't returned," Oracle chimed, "Neo Arcadia has started gruesome experiments on Reploids, like Nemesis stated before... They're trying to make their own lives longer so they're using us as guinea pigs... We have no rights anymore... Sure there is equal rights for all races but it isn't enforced... Reploids are subhuman to everyone... so therefore we can get tested on without any recourse... All we want is to be seen as their equals... Not one of us figures that we're better than the any bit of humanity... It's s.. so so... frustrating..."

"Tragic," Dr Cossack cut in, "You'd think that they'd learn from their past mistakes... I guess they had better wake up and see what they're doing... before those past mistakes come back to haunt them... This is just stupid that X had to sacrifice his life to bring on such dark times... It's totally ridiculous to kill sanctioned creatures like that... Those barbaric Neo Arcadians must pay for their crimes and this cruelty toward your race... I'm behind you on this... This must end here and now with my daughter's help... Ciel... Awaken darling... It's time to wake up..."

"Access code granted, doctor, awakening life form code Ciel..." a cold female voice called from within the computer, "vitals green... system green.... memory green... initializing... Life form Ciel awakened..."

With a pressurized hiss, the capsule opened up at which Ciel stood up and stretched out yawning. Letting out a sigh, Ciel smiled sweetly as she looked onto her father's face. She turned her head slightly at the uniformed soldiers standing around and their various holstered weapons but continued to take in the information around the room... Stepping back at the sight of Nemesis and Oracle, Ciel cleared her throat and spoke slowly.

"W..Who are these people father?" Ciel panicked, "Are these the forces of Black Talon?"

"No my sweet daughter," Dr Cossack laughed slightly, "These are some friends. The big guy on your right is Nemesis and next to him is Oracle. They come from the Resistance. A lot of things have happened since I put ya to sleep. It seems a totalitarian government has seized control of the world above driving a race of robots, called Reploid, underground. This Resistance is fighting to free those captured by the government and save the world from their tyranny. They came here to appoint you their leader. They need your brain power to resolve a power crisis at hand right now. What do you think? Feel up to the challenge?"

"Of course!" Ciel laughed cheerfully, "I love challenges! Any friend of my father is a friend to me! Where to guys? Let's make these pigheaded government bastards pay for their crimes! This is the beginning of a new age where Reploid and man will coexist on this Earth without any harm to each other! This is the new beginning where we will make right the wrongs that existed long ago! We're ready for anything you people can throw at us!"


	3. The Black Room

The Black Room

Across the continent, in an area deep within the Neo-Arcadian territories, there resided a rundown factory district that had been long since forgotten... Within one of these factories, there was a secret that would turn the tides of the newest war to come... The war to come that would be the trial of fire that would eternally dampen the hopes of the future to come... Before the end, though, a choice would be made that would darken the fate of Reploids... and change the race forever...

The silent chirp of machines knocked around a blackened room as error messages popped upon the darkened computer screens... Dust had collected on the tables and it was sizable but the secrets here were still greater... Although long forgotten in the sands of time, this lab was still functioning somehow and the minimal power supply gave enough to the systems to keep this experiment running... Yet for how long was still questionable... As this slow stream of energy flowed, the derelict facility laid in complete eclipse without being touched by anything... as it slowly decayed... However, whether it be spite or fate, the room, some hundred feet underground, still remained in one piece... Abused by time, the structure was as creepy as it was dark... With various items strewn on the table, there laid several discarded medical instruments and several broken monitors... Not too far from the discarded medical devices and some distance from the monitors, glowing slightly, there slept the one secret of which would turn the tides... forever... Yet to which side his allegiance was owed would still have to be seen...

Hidden in the meager silence, under the continuous drip of the leaking ceiling, a capsule, with a steady stream of pressurized air blowing out of it, rested without being disturbed. By the looks of the disheveled capsule, it had been here for some number of years and had not been upkept... for the need of the warrior inside had long since passed... His eyes shifted behind his eyelids as the nightmares of his former life flooded his consciousness... His time had come and the resurrection of him would restart the Maverick Wars long since forgotten...

As the monitors continued their error messages, the codes on the capsule read green and was readying to release its occupant... Laying deep within the forgotten boundaries of Neo Arcadia, the lab was once a house of many top secret projects that were hidden from its unsuspecting populace. It was this project that would come to life and renew the fighting in this world of the future... It was this project that would change the future of Reploidom.... for the worse...

With a loud resounding click, the many computers in front of the capsule came to life as they continued to check the life signs of the creature contained within... Then with another loud click, a series of error messages again flooded the dimly lit screens as the whole room shook and the capsule glowed no more... It had seemed the lab could not wait anymore and had to release its entry into the fight above... for soon it would be too late...

The tremors seeming to increase, the subject in the capsule could almost sense it as he tried to regain consciousness from his years of slumber.... While the lab started to collapse around him, the lid of the capsule hissed open and fell off its hinges as the occupant's azure eyes strained under the darkness in the room... Leaping from his capsule, he vanished in a whiz of light as the lab caved in... He had barely made his escape and now he was free... He was free to roam the world above and make a difference once more... but what difference he would make was yet to be seen...

Standing upon firm ground, he was almost jarred off of his feet with the memories that were still foreign to him... He stared off into the distance as the morning sun peaked over the clouds... The light reflected off of his sapphire eyes as he slowly saw flashes of a life he had not known about... The echoes of a life, where he had once done so much good, were lost to him but all that he knew now was that he was here in the present... Shuddering slightly, he stood on the roadside trying to remember what brought him here... The man stood with his hands in front of his face and stared at them... He remembered how they once could make a difference in the world but now all they did was shake nervously as he made a meek fist... A single tear streaked down his cheek as he remembered how he fought for justice once... but now that justice had been lost... giving way to this bastardization of everything he had stood for... Everything that he had done was lost and every hope he stood for was twisted... condemning the future of everything to come...

Drying the corner of his eye, he leapt forward as he wandered the desert hills alone... He had no recollection of who he was or what he had left to fight for... He had lost that sense long ago... It was all pointless... He remembered names and faces of people who had died ages ago but he did not know who they were... Their voices were alive in his mind and haunted him... Shutting his eyes, he could see their faces and hear them...

"I love you," the voice of a familiar female called.

"You're the best friend a guy could hope for," a man called to him as he faded away.

"Return to base," A formal masculine voice yelled, "Eurasia was a diversion!"

_ "Who am I?" _the lone warrior pondered to himself,_ "Why was I built? Why am I here?"_

_ "You're the hero.... Who gave of himself long ago to bring new life to this world..." _a voice, much like his own, chimed_, "You're the Ancient hero who stood on the brink of devastation as hordes of foes came to destroy you and your great world... You're the one who almost 100 years ago stopped the world from being destroyed in the final battle against evil.... You alone defeated this evil... known as Sigma... You are the last hope and very life of this world... You and I are one and the same... You are Mega Man X... Arise... Let the truth be known for soon... you will be needed once more... to right a wrong that I overlooked nearly a century ago..."_


End file.
